Why Gold as Your Investment?

                       

Never, never invest on advice from advertisements.

                       

As for gold investing, there are constant advertisements telling you how the gold price advanced in the past.  Sounds great. But for current investors, that unusual boost means little.

                       

The reasons for buying or not buying gold are not as simple as they are noted in the ads. The cheapening dollar and inflation can be handled by other investing means as well. Perhaps more profitably. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Stock Market Psychology

 

                       

I have written expansively on the psychology of the stock market; its moods and sentiments of varying lengths. They overcome rational evaluation of the markets too often to be overlooked.

                       

In other words, inherent values of companies or bond issues may mean little if the market psychology at the time is poor.

                       

I have seen research of the effects of such psychological influences. I derived ongoing observations from my investigations, that discipline is an important means of overcoming these adverse psychological market effects.

                       

In short: Despite all influences, you should buy securities with one distinct strategy and you then sell when that strategy’s goals are no longer applicable. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

       

The Poor Japanese Economy

                       

The Japanese Nikkei Stock Average is about one quarter of its value at the end of 1989.

                       

We know about Hitachi and Nissin Foods but the Japanese economy has been flat and practically dormant for well over the past twenty years. This has been the case despite huge Japanese government spending, Japanese public debt is now over 200% of GDP.  

The nation's earthquake/atomic plant disaster has added to its woes.

The U.S. has been on a wild tear to “stimulate” the American economy, much the same way the Japanese attempted two decades ago, to spend their way to prosperity. Which they have failed to do.  (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

                       

               

Getting Poor Portfolio Advice?

                       

Giving advice on investment portfolios without regard to a client’s age, family conditions and needs, is ridiculous. Everyone has a different investing time horizon and current and future income needs.

                       

Those factors affect the choice and percentages of securities. And where bonds are chosen, the “duration” of the bonds and the practicality of low-cost fund automatic reinvestment of their earnings are paramount. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

           

Credit Card Debt Reduction

                       

When you see or hear a credit card balance reduction ad, two facts will probably never be mentioned, and will mislead you about that credit reduction purpose.

                       

One; you pay income tax on any amount of debt you reduce. Therefore, cutting that balance is not as simple as it may appear. Reduce your balance by $4,000 and it’s as if you had a taxable gain.

                       

Two; you hurt your credit standing by resorting to credit reduction. This may eventually cost you.

                       

And, how many who have so much credit card debt, they must resort to drastic measures, are actually permanently getting out of debt? You can be sure their spending habits will be getting them into the same situation again in a few years. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Avoid 12b-1 Mutual Fund Fees

                       

The 12b-1 mutual fund fees are still around. These were originally permitted by the SEC to allow mutual funds to market their product to new investors, so are actually a sales load that adds up over the years. Fortunately, most funds no longer use them. They  were also used to pay fees for the distribution of funds by brokers. But they sometimes persist, even when brokers are not involved.

                       

My suggestion: Avoid any mutual funds that charge them. Those fees become significant deductions from your accumulated holding values over the years. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

                       

High Frequency Trading Advantages

                       

We have heard much about the sometimes glitches with high frequency trading and their problems. There are facts to be gleaned from this subject.

                       

Among costs, added to the "expense ratios" of mutual fund investors, is the bid- ask spread. A wide spread means the fund must pay significantly more to acquire a stock than it could sell it for.

                       

High- frequency trading has reduced this cost by narrowing the spreads. Generally, wide spreads are seen as inefficiency, with buyers and sellers having difficulty agreeing on a price that accurately reflects what is known about a stock. Narrow spreads mean the market is working better.

                       

Another transaction cost arises from the fact that a fund's huge trades can drive prices up or down by tipping the balance of supply and demand. High-frequency trading has helped reduce this "market-impact" cost by making it easier to break big trades into many little ones while still conducting them very quickly,

                       

Trading costs from spreads and market impact have been cut in half over the past decade, From 0.5% of the trade amount for big company stocks to 0.25% and less. For small stocks, trading costs have dropped from 1% to 0.5%.

                       

Therefore, high-frequency trading isn’t always the villain the financial media purports it to be. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

               

Investing in Art

                       

I have always suggested original prints in limited editions for small collectors starting out as buyers of worthwhile art.

                       

The art process ought to be original such as lithography and be supervised by the artist. It’s absolutely essential that the work be in limited quantities, and if done in modern times, be signed and numbered by the artist. I personally look for editions of no more than 50 copies in all.

                       

I like conceptional art because it requires thought and ideas, as befits any attempt at creating a worthwhile work. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

                       

Mussolini, Crony Capitalism, and Today’s “Truth”

                       

I often give definitions of crony or state capitalism and advise folks to look into the career of Benito Mussolini, to see how he applied the principle in fascist Italy of the 1930s and 1940s.

                       

However, many today will look at economic/political “ism” and reinterpret the significance of their observation. They look with postmodern-style “relative truth” and interpretation which garbles historical fact in order to confirm their own political slants.

They’re perfectly happy confirming what they continue to believe is acceptable, as it had been in the past U.S. system. If they ignore history they do so at their and the country’s peril. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

                       

Credit Card Balance Transfers

                       

  

When you make too many credit card transfers it appears you may be applying for fresh credit each time. That hurts your credit card score.

                       

Therefore, when you get offers from credit card companies to transfer your current outstanding balance to another card account, think  it over carefully.

                       

You may be hurting your credit score, should you take the bait. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Overseas Investing For Currency Transaction

                        

Investing overseas is not only for investment diversification, the benefits of growth opportunities are to be gained globally.

                       

Currency moves are always involved. Will the dollar be getting stronger or weaker? If the dollar gets weaker, such investments become more valuable as translated currency will then work in favor of the U.S. investor.

                       

However, should the dollar get stronger, the reverse will become true. The investments become less valuable, when translated into dollars. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Managing Credit Cards

                       

It may sometimes be necessary to take down the maximum amount your card permits, but it does not help your credit score. Do so only in an emergency.

It’s nice to know that your credit permits you spending liberties, but don’t let that take you on extreme spending binges.

                       

If you don’t use your card at all, or only occasionally, you may be dropped or the maximum available credit line may be reduced. Credit card companies are sensitive about account activity. So, use credit cards intelligently.(See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Politicized Securities and Exchange Commission Efforts

                                           

if your company’s common stock is worth more than $75 million dollars, shareholders are allowed to vote once every three years on whether they like or dislike top management pay scales. But the company does not have to act on the voting results.

                       

With all the problems the SEC has to face, this is a  worthwhile endeavor, not worth their regulatory efforts.

                       

Why? Few stockholders care. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Investor Fear of Stock Market

                       

Extremely fast computers have had glitches in the electronic handling of the stock market. The media’s handling of the problem has scared the small investors even more than they have the pros, who now make up between over 85% of the market.

                       

As a result the small investor has been scared of the market. But small, average investors should not be in the market, where they buy and sell individual securities. I have written extensively on the subject.

                       

Non-professional investors have always been better off with low-cost indexed mutual funds and ETFs, which adequately handle the fast computer markets. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)